Under the spell of the Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa stadium in Leiria, in central Portugal, Hervé Renard took the time to photograph the immense portrait of José Mourinho which surveys the pitch. Although his Blues have already qualified for the Final Four of the League of Nations, since their victory against Austria on Friday in Rennes (3-0), the coach wants the usual substitutes to maintain the series of invincibility this Tuesday against the Portugal.
“Now that qualification for the Final Four is assured, what do you expect from this match against Portugal?
The objective is to remain undefeated throughout this group stage. We are the team that has scored the most points in the four groups, we want to continue. Invincibility is good for morale, it’s the priority.
Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto left the group as a precaution. Can we expect a very revamped eleven?
Now that the qualification is acquired, we are not going to take any risks. We will also be vigilant regarding the six players who are under threat of suspension in the semi-finals of the Nations League (in February) in the event of a yellow card against Portugal (Elisa De Almeida, Amandine Henry, Léa Le Garrec, Eugénie Le Sommer, Griedge Mbock and Wendie Renard). There will be five of them on the bench at kick-off. It’s wiser. The notion of group will be reinforced, because those who play will have the duty to maintain this invincibility.
“The notion of group will be reinforced, because those who play will have the duty to maintain this invincibility”
You called three players as reinforcements – Melvine Malard (23 years old) and the young Hillary Diaz and Thiniba Samoura (19 years old) – for this end of training. Can they have play time?
They are promising players. Melvine, we know her a little more, since she left for Manchester United, she has achieved good things. It’s a way of rewarding your bounce back, in a club where it wasn’t easy to bounce back. She has playing time, more than in Lyon. The two youngest are the medium-term future. It’s up to them to start breathing in the scent of the A’s, to want to come back as often as possible.
The first leg against Portugal (2-0 in Valenciennes, September 22) was quite difficult…
Portugal has a lot of quality with the ball, plays the game well with a good team, but has more difficulty in the defensive phases. We know what to expect. The ranking of this group stage gives the impression that it was easy, but there was nothing easy. The girls were able to bounce back well after the draw against Norway in particular (0-0). We still have a lot of things to work on, we’re making a lot of videos. We will move to another stage (during the Final Four) by facing teams that are close to the elite of women’s football. We’re going to have to be better than what we are right now.
Selma Bacha again delivered two assists from set pieces against Austria. Did it put an end to the debate on female shooters in the French team?
It depends on the phases, there are other players who are capable of delivering good balls. On set pieces, there is the strike, of course, which is certainly the most important, but there are also the movements. It’s a lot of work which is led by Gilles Fouache, the person responsible for set pieces, congratulations to him. It’s a collective job, we delegate, everyone contributes to the building. »
2023-12-04 18:25:17
#Hervé #Renard #PortugalFrance #risks
